This Year’s Baseball Team Is Pretty Good

It comes as no surprise, but this year’s baseball team is pretty good.

Last year’s run, which featured a 24-6 record and district title, would be deemed by many as a successful season. Departing seniors like Steven Lugo and Michael Sandborn went out with a bang and left big shoes to fill for this year’s team. Although there’s a lot of talented depth on this year’s team, there were a lot of questions on how to replace stars like Lugo and Sandborn.

Fortunately, the team was gifted with the precocious, current-junior, Jack Anderson. Anderson pitched to the tune of a 0.60 ERA and propelled the team to the district title.

Now the question isn’t how this year’s team will rebuild after last year, but how far they’ll go down the stretch.

Anderson, along with seniors Price Sartor, Drew Martin, Jeff Hakanson and a superb supporting group anchor down the pitching staff. The offensive side of the ball is lead by seniors CINF/OF Tom Bencivenga, OF Duncan Hunter, C Garrett Sheppard, CINF/C Jake Jones, and INF Alex Mocny. Junior MINF McGuire Weaver has also made substantial contributions to the offense. This year’s group is confident they will make an even deeper playoff run.

Just take it from Drew Martin:

“We have a lot of guys that are really talented like we always do, but at the same time, we’ve got a lot of guys that are playing for something bigger than just themselves. It’s really become a team environment.”

The team is already 18-3 and ranked tenth in the state. Now, they’re breathing down the necks of nationally ranked teams. In fact, as of April 2, this year’s varsity team was ranked 12th in the nation.

The talent on the team is undeniable. What really strikes head coach Miguel Menendez is their chemistry.

“We definitely have a good team this year. What really separates them is how they care about each other, how they care about winning for each other. They’re built on team success not so much personal success.”

The team has undoubtedly been gaining momentum. The biggest question is how far this momentum will take them. While I can’t predict how far they’ll make it, I can say the team needs support. Tom Bencivenga agrees with me:

“We definitely need a ’10th man’ out there. The energy pumps us up and really helps our cause. We’ll need it heading forward.”

It’s safe to say these guys are pretty good. Who knows, maybe they’ll repeat their success in 2014. They definitely have the team to bring home another title.